Florida Prez: Playoff Has increasing support in SEC

[rayfsc07]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2815940


Playoff finds increasing support in SEC


Florida president Bernie Machen said Wednesday that he is gaining increased support among leaders of Southeastern Conference schools in his push for a playoff for college football in the former Division I-A.


Machen said he proposed his ideas to SEC presidents at a meeting in March in Atlanta and that the topic will be on the official agenda of the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla., in April.


"I will make my formal presentation," Machen said. "This is a big step. I didn't think they'd allow me to be a part of the agenda. But I will have my day in court."


Machen said the SEC needs to lead the way and that time is a factor.


"We need to have these considerations now," Machen said. "Fox wants now to extend our existing BCS deal and if we do that, we're going to be stuck in the same place for the next six to eight years, with a system that could obviously be better."


Machen takes his stand, of course, even though Florida won the national championship under the existing BCS format, which pits the two highest-rated teams in the BCS formula. Machen said movement towards a plus-one format (adding an extra game), a Final Four or eight-team format is not as important as getting a majority opinion among the SEC leaders that a change is beneficial.


"It will take a conference like ours to get this moving in the right direction," Machen said. "We've got to make this a deal with great revenue for league and bowls. Right now, I have more SEC presidents on board than I thought I would. And the majority are willing to listen, which is more than ever before."


Machen said he's spoken to about a half-dozen presidents outside the SEC to gauge their opinions. And that he has talked to leaders at two BCS bowls who say they "want to be at the table to discuss this, too."


The Big Ten and the Pac-10, with a strong Rose Bowl tie-in, figure to be the conferences least eager to rally support for a college football playoff.


Joe Schad is ESPN TV's national college football reporter.

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This NEEDS to get done.  It is ridiculous that CFB is the only major sport that does NOT have a playoff system in place.  I am in favor of an 8-team or even 16-team format, but at this point a 4 team would suffice.  Plus- one I am not a big fan of but even IT would be better than what we have now.

[Groovatron]

Man, if the Big 10 & PAC 10 don't support this I say they do it without them. How long could they hold out?

[Runole]

Here's how I would to do it…

1. Eliminate the newly added 12th game.

Big 10 add one team and have a Conference championship game

Pac 10 add  2  teams  and have a championship game

Big East add 3 and get rid of a bunch of the Basketball teams that don't play football  and  have a conference championship game

6 conference champions  + 2 at large by polls votes etc
Playoff 2nd weekend Dec....  4 games at site of the higher seed.

Semi- finals played bowl weekend  with the championship the following weekend.

All the bowls stay where they are and can actually set up meaningful matchups. (Heck, could even have a loser of the first round!)

Simple logical and the perfect ending to CFB every year

This would make for a meaningful REGULAR SEASON  and Post Season in Division One IMO

[matt]

When EVEN Lloyd Carr believes that there should be a playoff, you KNOW, that the time has come to have a playoff. I'm not sure how our AD, Bill Martin, feels about a playoff, but I doubt that U of M President Mary Sue Coleman even cares.

[rayfsc07]

Typical scene outside the Big 10 convention:

[rayfsc07]

Well if we don't get a playoff we may have to thank the cowards in the BIG 10 (11) conference. USA Today reported yesterday that they are opposed to ANY type of playoff.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2007-05-23-football-postseason_N.htm

SEC to discuss postseason for football
The debate over a major-college football playoff touches on its impact on the sport's regular season, on the survivability of a decades-old bowl system and on the potential for infringement on players' academics. But where it will turn, University of Florida president and playoff advocate Bernie Machen predicts, is on money.
"The big (unknown) is: 'Is there a lot of money that's not on the table?' " he says. "It could be sizable. More than $100 million more than is on the table now."

It's one plank in an argument he'll make to presidents of the 11 other schools in the Southeastern Conference next Friday during meetings in Destin, Fla. Machen also sees a playoff bringing a more equitable split of postseason revenue, which last season totaled almost $218 million — 86% pocketed by schools in six conferences — Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pacific-10 and SEC — and Notre Dame.

Even if the other SEC presidents aren't sold on scrapping football's Bowl Championship Series and moving to a playoff when current BCS contracts expire after the 2009 season, Machen says he's optimistic they'll clear him to take the idea to other leagues.

South Carolina President Andrew Sorensen, the SEC's current president, insists no action will be taken in Destin.


How Machen's pitch will be received is uncertain, says Sorenson, who himself is skeptical: "We've got the 12-game (regular) season. We've got the (32) bowls with the communities that sponsor them feeling passionate about maintaining them. And then we have in many conferences, including ours, a game to determine a conference champion. That's 14 games before you start a playoff, and that's a long season.

"You couldn't possibly add a national championship that wouldn't take at least three rounds. So now you're talking about a 17-game season that's interrupted by the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. … The logistics are difficult."

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany already has made his conference's position clear, telling Machen by letter that it's not interested in discussing a playoff.The Big 12 will broach the issue during meetings, and Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford discussed it with officials in his league last week.

"My sense," Swofford says, "is that if it were to change, it would be more toward a plus-one model (having the two highest-rated winners of the BCS' Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose bowls move on to a national championship game) rather than the more extreme playoff model."

[ranman]

Well if we don't get a playoff we may have to thank the cowards in the BIG 10 (11) conference. USA Today reported yesterday that they are opposed to ANY type of playoff.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2007-05-23-football-postseason_N.htm

SEC to discuss postseason for football
The debate over a major-college football playoff touches on its impact on the sport's regular season, on the survivability of a decades-old bowl system and on the potential for infringement on players' academics. But where it will turn, University of Florida president and playoff advocate Bernie Machen predicts, is on money.
"The big (unknown) is: 'Is there a lot of money that's not on the table?' " he says. "It could be sizable. More than $100 million more than is on the table now."

It's one plank in an argument he'll make to presidents of the 11 other schools in the Southeastern Conference next Friday during meetings in Destin, Fla. Machen also sees a playoff bringing a more equitable split of postseason revenue, which last season totaled almost $218 million — 86% pocketed by schools in six conferences — Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pacific-10 and SEC — and Notre Dame.

Even if the other SEC presidents aren't sold on scrapping football's Bowl Championship Series and moving to a playoff when current BCS contracts expire after the 2009 season, Machen says he's optimistic they'll clear him to take the idea to other leagues.

South Carolina President Andrew Sorensen, the SEC's current president, insists no action will be taken in Destin.


How Machen's pitch will be received is uncertain, says Sorenson, who himself is skeptical: "We've got the 12-game (regular) season. We've got the (32) bowls with the communities that sponsor them feeling passionate about maintaining them. And then we have in many conferences, including ours, a game to determine a conference champion. That's 14 games before you start a playoff, and that's a long season.

"You couldn't possibly add a national championship that wouldn't take at least three rounds. So now you're talking about a 17-game season that's interrupted by the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. … The logistics are difficult."

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany already has made his conference's position clear, telling Machen by letter that it's not interested in discussing a playoff.The Big 12 will broach the issue during meetings, and Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford discussed it with officials in his league last week.

"My sense," Swofford says, "is that if it were to change, it would be more toward a plus-one model (having the two highest-rated winners of the BCS' Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose bowls move on to a national championship game) rather than the more extreme playoff model."

LOL.  I didn't see in your release where the SEC approved a playoff system.  Since we are speculating only, Delaney is not a school prez, hence he has no vote in the matter.  He likes what he has now with the Rose Bowl and it's monster payout as a guarantee every year. 
I do want to see at least a plus one before the end of the current contract.

As for Fox - they blow at FB.  Tell em to stick with Nascar.

[rayfsc07]

1st of all, this isn't my release, it was a piece by USA Today. 

No, THE SEC didn't approve a system.  But at least they are willing to discuss the possibility and as stated a couple months ago there is growing support from the SEC in a playoff.  The Big 10 doesn't even want to discuss the possibility which is pathetic.

The Big 10 likes what they have I am sure....they have a mediocre conference and like you said still get a guaranteed payday.   The Big 10 has at most 2-3 good teams a year, so every year chances are good a team gets through undefeated or with just 1 loss, which means they have a good shot at the title anyway.  They stand no benefit from a playoff, and have everything to lose.  No matter how crappy the conference is they get a Rose Bowl game, where they get big money.  Why expose their teams to a playoff where they aren't guaranteed big money?

Most would say because that is what the fans deserve.  We deserve to see the best teams play it off on the field.  Not in the current system where you play and pray you get enough votes to get in a big game. 

But I guess teh Big 10 is interested in fans, just lining their own pockets!

[ranman]

Sorry, let me clarify -

 Delaney has no decision making authority in this.  This can only be decided by the School Presidents, therefore I don't throw much weight into his public opinions or outbursts as embarassing as they might be.  I believe most CFB fans regardless of conference affiliation support a playoff system. 

[rayfsc07]

Sorry, let me clarify -

 Delaney has no decision making authority in this. This can only be decided by the School Presidents, therefore I don't throw much weight into his public opinions or outbursts as embarassing as they might be. I believe most CFB fans regardless of conference affiliation support a playoff system.

I'll agree with most fans wanting it, but I think Delaney's comments hold more weight than you suspect.

Yes, on the surface his comments don't mean a whole lot since he won't make the decisions.  But I think his comments lend insight to how a lot of the Big 10 schools think.  They have this $20 million nest egg in the Rose Bowl, and they don't seem willing to give it up to please the masses and give CFB a playoff.

[ranman]

This guy is a joke.  He calls out three of the big conferences and then turns coat and runs - backing off his playoff sermon.  Should have been focusing on the other coach at fu



"They are persuaded, and I am now persuaded, that the best way to proceed is to try to work within the BCS structure, to make some changes to make it better. That seems to me to be a very good way to go."

Florida president Bernie Machen

[rayfsc07]

"FU" that's a good one.

Seems to be a common theme for people jealous of UF.  First it was FSU, now OSU.  I guess I can't complain, it means UF must be doing something right....oh yeah, kicking the crap out of BOTH.